CLEVELAND — The injuries continue to mount for the Cleveland Indians this year.
On Thursday, the team added catcher Austin Hedges to the 7-day concussion injured list. Hedges was hit in the head by a pitch in the third inning of Friday night’s game against the Seattle Mariners. Hedges did stay in the game until he was removed in the top of the fifth inning as Rene Rivera replaced him behind the plate defensively.
Hedges then was back in the lineup on Sunday afternoon and played the complete game. He also played the full game on Tuesday, but did take a foul ball off his catcher’s helmet. Then, on Wednesday night, Hedges was scratched from the lineup roughly an hour before scheduled first pitch with what the team deemed as illness.
The Indians have selected the contract of catcher Ryan Lavarnway from AAA-Columbus to replace Hedges on the active roster. The team has also pushed outfielder Jordan Luplow (left ankle sprain) from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL in order to create room for Lavarnway on the 40-man roster.
This season in Columbus, Lavarnway has batted .313 with seven home runs and 20 runs batted in. He has spent parts of nine seasons in the major leagues with Boston, Miami, Baltimore, Oakland, Cincinnati, Atlanta and Pittsburgh.
Hedges joins a long list of guys on the IL. The team currently has six players on various ILs, including Cy Young-winner Shane Bieber who was placed on the 10-day IL with a right shoulder strain on June 14. Hedges, Bieber, and Luplow are joined on the IL by designated hitter Franmil Reyes (left oblique), starting pitcher Zach Plesac (fractured right thumb) and catcher Roberto Perez (fractured right ring finger).
Despite all the injuries, the Indians enter play on Thursday at 37-28 on the season, in second place in the American League Central Division, 4.5 games behind the first-place Chicago White Sox.
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